The Kansas Senate has given final approval to a $14 billion budget for the next fiscal year.

Thursday's 24-16 vote sends the measure to the House, which approved its own budget bill Wednesday. Negotiators from the two chambers are expected to begin meeting next week to work out a final version.

Both bills generally follow spending recommendations laid out by Gov. Sam Brownback. Each would spend about $6 billion in general state revenues and $8 billion from federal funds and other sources.

Bill Would Allow Open Carry Anywhere In Kansas

Lawmakers are considering a bill that would prevent local governments from barring openly carried firearms.

Kansas lawmakers have dropped their pursuit of a proposal to narrow the topics permitted in contract negotiations between teachers and school districts.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Marvin Kleeb says his committee won't vote this year on a bill regarding teacher bargaining rights.

The measure would reduce the issues that teachers' groups could negotiate with local school boards. Teachers could still bargain on matters like pay and sick leave, but no longer on how they are evaluated.

Kleeb says groups representing teachers, administrators and school boards will try to work out a compromise for legislators to consider next year.

Committee Authorizes Bonds To Pay KPERS Debt

A state House committee has voted to authorize $1.5 billion dollars in bonds to bolster the state pension system for teachers and state government workers.

Lawmakers are considering a bill that would prevent local governments from barring openly carried firearms.

The Libertarian Party of Kansas has sued the communities that bar open carry, saying their ordinances violate state law, but lawmakers are also looking at the issue. The House Federal and State Affairs Committee held a hearing on the bill Thursday.

Currently, some communities ban open carry, but the bill before the committee would throw out those ordinances.

Allan Rothlisberg, a Republican from Grandview Plaza, says the Second Amendment protects open carry.